I am a biology graduate student at Georgia Southern University. My research is focused on the free-tailed bat within the southeastern plains ecoregion of Georgia. While most individuals are very familiar with the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana) of the southwestern United States, there is actually very little literature on what is commonly known as Le Conte's free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis cynocephala) of the southeastern United States. There are significant behavioral differences between these cousin bats - most notably that Le Conte's free-tailed bat does not make seasonal migrations. Rather, Le Conte's free-tailed bat stays in the southeastern United States throughout the year and goes through a type of torpor and/or abbreviated hibernation. I know we Georgians can relate to the radical climate commonly observed in our wonderful state, and these bats take advantage of that.

My goal is to find active roosts of this bat to provide gaps in scientific literature concerning their diet. I hypothesize that these bats are major predators of agricultural arthropods and provide a significant source of natural crop pest management. It is my hope that this research will bring further awareness in conservation efforts for all bats, but I need your help.

I need to locate active roosts of Le Conte's free-tailed bat to gather guano samples on a monthly time schedule for a year. Guano will be collected in a standing, framed netting from underneath the active roost. This will provide a non-invasive manner of assessing dietary composition for this bat species. Of course, it has been very difficult to locate active roosts within the southeastern plains ecoregion. This is a vast range (from Columbus to Augusta and from Valdosta to about mid-Screven County) and I have not had very positive results despite a year of searching and pleading with various agencies for help.

If anybody reading this can be of ANY help in my search, please contact me. If you require more information, please don't hesitate to ask. I've also included a web address that displays counties within the southeastern plains region of Georgia.